The Hitter and Consulting Detective Job
by Falcons-Tears
Summary: When Nate and Sophie take the team to England, Eliot suspects that there is a lot more to it than the rest of the team was told. He soon finds out that he's being conned by his own team, because none other than Mycroft Holmes has made Sophie and Nate an offer that they couldn't refuse. And soon Sherlock and Eliot find themselves on the run from two men from their past...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Okay, I really shouldn't do this and start another story, but this one wouldn't leave me alone. And even though I've no idea where exactly this is going to go, I hope you like it *smiles a little sheepishly* And sorry, if it's short, but it's just a prolog to check if you're interested and to see if I'm even capable of writing a Sherlock fanfic (because that would be my first Sherlock fic), even though there isn't any Sherlock in that first chapter, but there will be in the second *smiles*

So yeah, have fun reading and I really hope you enjoy the little first chapter *smiles*

Feedback would be appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

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**Disclaimer: **None of the Leverage and Sherlock characters belong to me, they are property of their creators. This isn't meant to offend anyone, it's simply meant to entertain you and it's all fiction...

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**Summary: **When Nate and Sophie take the team to England to steal a secret government file on Sophie, Eliot suspects that there is a lot more to it than the rest of the team was told. And he soon finds out that he's being conned by his own team, because none other than Mycroft Holmes has made Sophie and Nate an offer that they couldn't refuse so that Eliot can assist Sherlock Holmes on his newest case... and that is when things get really dangerous when suddenly Sherlock and Eliot find themselves on the run from two men from their past..

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**Warnings:** none so far, maybe slash in later chapters, but I'm not sure and I'll warn if it's going to be slash ^^

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**The Hitter and Consulting Detective Job**

**Chapter 1**

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"You want to what? Seriously?"

Eliot Spencer's head whipped around and he stared at Nathan Ford, who sat calmly on his couch, one leg placed over the other, bent at the knee, arms crossed in front of his chest, one of his more insane smiles on his face.

"We're going to steal Sophie's file from the British Government," Nate repeated and now even Hardison and Parker looked at their mastermind as if he had gone insane. Sophie calmly sat beside Nate and played with the purse on her lap as if all of this didn't concern her.

"I have two questions," Hardison said, raising his hand as if they were in school, a sure sign that he didn't feel comfortable with what Nate was planning. Nathan turned his head towards him.

"And those would be?" he wanted to know.

"Why are we stealing Sophie's file? I mean it has been sitting in that comfortable file cabinet within the British Government building for years, so why are you suddenly so eager to get your hands on it?" Hardison asked and Eliot had to agree that it was a pretty good question. Why would Nate risk the team for a file that was essentially dead anyway since Hardison had created numerous aliases for them.

"Because we can and after the fiasco with Damian Moreau and our little trip to Britain attention has been drawn to it," Nate simply said and here Eliot flinched because the fiasco was partially his fault, since he had never told his team about his connection with the mob boss. But still, that had been over a year ago, so why would they want to steal it now?

"You do realize that "because we can" only works for five-year-olds," Eliot stated, trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice. Nate glared at him and Hardison quickly said: "But I can agree with the second part of Nate's reasoning. But that also brings me to my second question."

Now Nate's attention went from Eliot back to Hardison, who had already taken out his laptop, probably to book them all first class flights to London and create usable identities when over there.

"How on Earth are we going to steal Sophie's file from underneath the nose of the British Government?" Hardison wanted to know and even Parker nodded in agreement. She could break into almost any building in the world, but she had never tried to break into anything like that and that made even her a little nervous, given the little glint in Nate's eyes that always meant some dangerous plan.

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This time it was Sophie, who spoke up.

"I have called some of my contacts and in a few days there is a big charity dinner in the Parliament and we can get in there and then we have all the time in the world to get my file, especially with the right plan," she stated, a small reminiscent smile on her face, probably from another dinner at the Parliament that she had somehow managed to get into and attend as Baroness Charlotte Prentiss. Then she turned to Hardison and Parker.  
"And there are a lot of other interesting things to steal and to hack when we're in England," she said and suddenly Hardison and Parker didn't seem to mind too much that they were going back to England.

"I've always wanted to break into the Tower of London," Parker explained, rubbing her hands in real glee. And Hardison would go everywhere that Parker went to keep an eye on his girlfriend.

Eliot knew that he was on his own glared at Sophie and then at Nate.

"That's a really bad idea," he pressed through gritted teeth, since he didn't really want to go back to England. Yes, he had been able to avoid running into his numerous acquaintances, no matter if on the wrong or right side of the law, the last time they had been there, but if they were really going to crash a government charity dinner, someone was bound to recognize Eliot and that wouldn't be good. He rubbed his temple and fell down into one of the chairs that wasn't occupied to express his distaste for the newest job.

"Eliot, please," Sophie looked at him, her eyes wide and innocent, too innocent for Eliot's liking.

"We need to get my file, before someone makes the right connections and the whole team and what we do is in danger. And you know we can't do this without you, we wouldn't be safe without you," She tried to appeal to his softer side, as she always did when she wanted something from him. The Hitter hated it with passion when she did that.

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So Eliot only snorted.

"Don't con your team, Sophie, didn't we learn that lesson?" he asked, crossing his own arms in front of his chest, mimicking Nate's posture. He knew that there was more to that whole thing than Nate and Sophie were telling them.

"I'm not," Sophie protested immediately, looking offended, but right now Eliot didn't care. He had a bad feeling about this and in his years as a military man, enforcer and later as a retrieval specialist he had learned to trust his gut.

"Sure you aren't," he replied, sarcasm more than evident in his voice, before he took a deep breath and sighed. Then he stood up and started pacing the room.

"Fine, I'll do this, but if I have any objections against or changes for your plan, then you listen to it, Nate or I'm out of this," he explained, looking serious, only loosening his stance when Nathan nodded and made a promise that, for once, Eliot believed. He still hated that they were going back to England and near the British Government non the less, but he'd do it for his team, because he'd never be able to live with himself if anything happened to his new-found family. So he did what he always did before a con, he called some contacts to find out how many of his enemies were in London and whom of those he needed to be careful of.

And when he sat in the airplane that would bring them to London, he even looked a little forward to go back to that great city and maybe he'd even see some faces he'd like to see again. And for a while he forgot that Sophie and Nate might be conning them again.

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What Eliot didn't know, was, that, on the other side of the Atlantic, a man in a very formal suit stood in his office, a file in his hand, studying it intently. A beautiful, brown-haired woman with a cell-phone in her hands, where she'd obviously just received a text message, was just entering the room, causing the man turn around.

"Well?" he questioned, his voice sounding almost bored, while he put the file down on his desk. The woman smiled a little and looked up from the small screen.

"Eliot Spencer is on his way here," she said.

"Excellent," the man said, reaching for his umbrella that was resting against his desk. He turned to the woman again.

"Is the car ready?" he asked, tapping the umbrella against the ground impatiently. The woman simply nodded again.

"Yes, the driver is ready to go when you are, Mr. Holmes."

Mycroft Holmes smiled for a second, took the file from his desk and said to his assistant: "Well then, let's go to 221B Baker Street to see my little brother and tell him that we have the help he needs, well, the help he doesn't think he needs."

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to be continued, if anyone is interested in this *smiles*


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hey everybody *waves* I'm really glad that you liked the first chapter and I hope you also enjoy the second chapter as well *smiles*

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For the timeline, well, Sherlock has returned to Baker Street after the Reichenbach Fall and it hasn't been the whole two years and Mary doesn't exist in this story. If there are any other questions regarding the timeline, then PM me *smiles*

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Thank you, of course, to **krynny, Im dead inside, TheNaggingCube, Quiet Ryter, Murakami no Kitsune, toxic-wolf-heart, HelenaY **(even though the review wasn't really for this story) and **Jesco123** for all your kind words *hugs you all*

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage and Sherlock characters belong to me, they are property of their creators. This isn't meant to offend anyone, it's simply meant to entertain you and it's all fiction...

.

**Warnings:** none so far, maybe slash in later chapters, but I'm not sure and I'll warn if it's going to be slash ^^

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**Chapter 2**

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"You need to stop meddling, Mycroft. I can handle this."

Sherlock Holmes was pacing his apartment anxiously. He didn't even spare his older brother a glance. Mycroft Holmes was sitting in the armchair that Dr. John Watson normally occupied, tapping his fingers against the teapot in his hand. Mrs. Hudson had insisted on it, no matter that Sherlock had wanted to throw him out immediately.

"Don't be a fool, Sherlock, that doesn't suit you. Remember what has happened the last time you tried to outmaneuver Moriarity," he said, voice blase and indifferent. He could easily see his brother's shoulders stiffen at the mention of "the Fall" as John, Sherlock and anybody close to them had dubbed it..

John, who had come into the room at Mycroft's last words, looked back and forth between the two men.

"Yes, I'd appreciate it, if that never happened again," he added his own thoughts. It was Mycroft's third visit in as many days and the brothers still hadn't reached a conclusion, not that John thought they would any time soon. Both Holmes's were too stubborn for that. But John had also, probably wisely, decided to stay out of it for now and only interfere if it would be necessary before World War III erupted in Baker Street.

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John really appreciated that Mycroft had hired help for this case, because John had the feeling that they were in over their heads and he knew that Sherlock knew that too, how could he not, being the genius he was. The Consulting Detective, however, was just too stubborn and proud to admit that to anyone, least of all his older brother. And John had decided, that today it was better to stay away until the brothers had resolved this matter.

So the sudden and unexpected invitation to dinner from an old army buddy had been a welcome distraction and excuse to leave the flat.

Sherlock turned towards him, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Where are you going?" the curly haired detective questioned, one delicate eyebrow raised in confusion. John only rolled his eyes.

"I told you this morning over breakfast, Sherlock. I'm meeting an old army buddy for dinner," he informed, once again that Sherlock had obviously deleted that information.

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"He must be a dear friend, if you're wearing your newest dress shirt and your new shoes," Mycroft interjected before Sherlock could.

John glared at the older Holmes. Wasn't it enough that Sherlock did the deducing of him on a regular basis? Did Mycroft have to do it too? He thought it best not to dignify Mycroft's words with an answer, especially when he saw the icy look Sherlock directed at him, making John wonder what he had done now.

He shrugged, grabbed his jacket and looked at both brothers for a second.

"Right, I'll just go now and leave you two to it," he said and without another backward glance, he left, relieved when he had exited the flat. He took a deep breath, getting a lungful of fresh air to regain his composure and then he quickly hailed a cab to take him to the restaurant where his old buddy would be waiting for him. John, once again, was glad for the excuse to leave the two Holmes brothers alone to fight this out, for once hoping that Mycroft would win this fight. They needed help and Sherlock just had to accept it this time.

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The cab ride didn't take too long and John paid the fare, before entering the cozy looking restaurant, an anticipatory smile on his face, once he spotted the familiar brown-haired head, a different haircut than the last time they had seen each other, but everything else about the man was unmistakably familiar. The man, as tall as John himself, rose form his chair, a happy grin on his face, the startling blue eyes, reminding John of Sherlock's for a second, sparkling with laughter. The two men hugged for a second.

"John Watson, long time no see," the deep, rough voice said and John grinned, while the two men sat down at their table again.

"Entirely too long, my friend," John agreed, ordering a beer, since one was already sitting in front of his friend. Then he questioned: "So, what brings you back here? You didn't leave on the best of terms last time I checked."

The sudden change of expression on his friend's face told John, that, whatever it was, it couldn't be good, because normally the other had his emotions better under control.

"That's a long story, John," the other said, taking a deep sip of his beer. John sighed and rubbed his temple.

"Believe me, I have a lot of time on my hands before I want to return to my brilliant but sometimes annoying roommate," he assured, tilting his head to the side.

"So, let me know, what's going on and how you got my new phone number, Eliot..."

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"Do you really think the new haircut was necessary?"

Hardison looked at Eliot in amusement. The Hitter only glared at him, before slipping a huge pair of sunglasses onto his face.

"Not your problem," Eliot told him dismissively, running a hand through his now short hair. Hardison looked at the other man, a frown on his face. A glance at Parker, Nate and Sophie revealed, that the other three were equally as puzzled by Eliot's behavior as he was. Sure, after that first talk about their trip to England three days ago, they had expected trouble and a grumpy Eliot. But this... this they hadn't really expected. Eliot had barely talked to them outside of mission meetings and he had vanished almost immediately afterward. They had sent Parker after him once, to see where he was going, but even the thief had lost his trace quickly. And that Sophie and Nate were acting a little weird too, set Hardison on edge and for once he really feared that this mission might end in a disaster.

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"I don't like this new Eliot," Parker suddenly whispered beside the Hacker, her pretty face contorted with worry. Hardison sighed and squeezed her shoulder encouragingly.

"Me neither, Parker, but I'm sure everything will be back to normal soon," he tried to assure her. Parker nodded, as always unconditionally believing in Hardison's words. The two youngest members of the team followed the other three out of the crowded airport.

Sophie and Nate were talking about going sightseeing together if the mission allowed it and Eliot was already on his phone, obviously texting somebody. Seconds later Eliot had apparently received an answer, because he smiled for the first time in days.

"I'll be off now, I'll see you at the hotel later," he tossed towards the team's general direction and before any of them could protest, Eliot had already taken off.

"Do you want me to follow him?" Parker questioned timidly, looking at Nate and Sophie, who were staring after Eliot slightly startled. At Parker's question Nate shook his head.

"Leave him be for now. He needs a little time to cool off. And we have a meeting in a few minutes anyway, which Eliot probably shouldn't be part of and know about just yet," he explained.

"Okay, for the record, I don't like this," Hardison explained, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"What kind of meeting are we going to have that Eliot shouldn't know about immediately? And who exactly are we meeting?" Now Hardison felt a little uneasy too and again he, for a moment, shared Eliot's belief, that there was something Nate and Sophie weren't telling them.

That belief grew only seconds later when a black car, slick and obviously expensive, stopped directly in front of them. Nate grinned at them and then said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world: "We'll go and see the British Government."

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The man stepped towards the car and opened the rear door. And even though Hardison and Parker were pretty sure that they weren't going to get a guided tour through the Parliament or the Buckingham Palace, they slid into the car behind Sophie. Nate was the last to get into the car and settled down beside Sophie, before he focused on the young, brunet, beautiful woman with a state of the art smart phone in her hand, that even Hardison was envious of.

Before any of team Leverage could say anything, however, the woman spoke up: "Mr. Ford, Miss Devereaux, Mr. Hardison and Parker, I hope you had a good flight and aren't too tired."

If Hardison or Parker were surprised that the woman knew their real names, they didn't let it show, something Nate was grateful for, even though he knew the questions would come later.

"It was a pleasant, quiet flight, Miss," he explained.

"Call me Anthea," she told them with a small, polite smile. Then her phone beeped and when she looked up, the smile was a lot more genuine.

"We'll get you to Mr. Holmes' office. He will be with you as soon as he has settled an important matter."

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Eliot breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally out of the airport and away from the team. The "relieved to be away from his team" part hadn't happened in a long time, but this trip was anything but normal for Eliot.

After the plane had landed, Eliot had immediately switched his phone back on to hear from his contacts. A lot of messages had been worrying and Eliot knew that he needed to keep as low a profile as possible while he was in England. But one particular message had been a lot better than the others and the Hitter made a mental note to thank Shelly for this information. He had read the surprising message and had quickly typed a message to the number and after he had received an answer with a time and a date to his request for dinner, he had parted from the team.

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Now he was slipping into the first taxi, that stopped and gave him the address he had been texted. He pulled the sunglasses off and leaned back into the seat, trying t relax a little, knowing that he wouldn't be able to do that a lot, as long as they were in London. He watched the scenery pass by, trying not to remember one of his previous visits to this city. The last time he had been here, had been with the team, when they had taken down Keller, one of Moreau's closest associates. And even though the team didn't know about it, that had been a close call for Eliot and one of his enemies had nearly caught up with. He just hoped that he could avoid any close calls this time.

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During his musings they had arrived at their destination and the taxi driver, or should that be cabbie, Eliot wondered a little amused, cleared his throat to alert his passenger that they were there. Eliot got out of the black car and paid his fare plus a generous tip. And then he entered the cozy looking restaurant. A quick glance around revealed that the person he wanted to see, wasn't here yet. So Eliot found an empty table from where he could see the entrance. The Hitter then ordered a beer and settled in to wait for his friend.

And the waiter had just place the beer in front of him, along with his phone number, which caused Eliot to chuckle a little and he ignored the flirtatious smile the, as Eliot could clearly see, good looking man, because a familiar figure had just entered the restaurant, looking around the restaurant searchingly. Eliot rose from his chair, a bright smile on his face.

"John Watson, long time, no see..."

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to be continued...


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